I have been focusing on faith this
Easter season. The faith of the women at the tomb. The faith of
Thomas. The faith of Cleopas and the other disciple at the breaking
of the bread. The faith to accept whomever Jesus calls through the
gate. And today we have both a continuation of last week's
gate-keeping theme as well as a statement of a mature faith.
First, the continuation of last week.
In summation I pointed out that Jesus was the gatekeeper, not us. It
is not incumbent upon us, therefore, to protect our church or our
turf by keeping the wrong people out. Instead, we need to recognize
that this is Jesus' church and those gate-keeping duties belong to
him. We need to have a faith that recognizes anyone who shows up at
our doors has been called by Christ. If Christ calls them, then we
accept them. Do we have the faith to relinquish control of
gate-keeping duties to Christ?
This theme is picked up today when
Jesus says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes
to the Father except through me.”
This statement has been used over the
centuries to present an exclusionary view of Christianity. People
have pulled this out of context to say, “We're right, you're
wrong.” Or, on a more crass and dangerous level, “Unless you
accept Jesus Christ as your personal savior, you're going to hell
because no one gets to heaven except through him.”
That, in my opinion, is a very insecure
form of faith. It requires certainty. It squashes honest
questioning. Unlike Thomas, it removes room for doubts. And most
importantly, it usurps gate-keeping responsibilities from Jesus to
ourselves.
What if, however, instead of viewing
this statement as limiting and exclusionary, we viewed it as broad
and expansive? What if we viewed this as a hotel?
The NRSV translates v. 2 as, “In my
Father's house are many dwelling-places.” Other versions translate
this as “mansions” or “rooms.” Regardless of what
translation you use, the implication is that there is plenty of room
with God.
When we are traveling and need a place
to stay, we go to a hotel. Hotels have many rooms. Some have rooms
that seem downright palatial. And we are almost never refused a
room. Granted, there are situations involving conventions, illegal
activities, or sudden snowstorms. But in general, to get a room two
things need to happen: 1) we need to stop and ask for one; and 2)
the desk clerk, the gatekeeper, needs to assign us one.
Is it possible that what Jesus is
saying about no one coming to the Father except through him isn't
necessarily exclusionary but is a recognition that he will assign a
room to anyone who stops and asks? Instead of us putting
restrictions on who's in and who's out, can we open up the hotel
doors and let Jesus, desk clerk and gatekeeper extraordinaire, allow
in whomever he chooses?
Is our faith secure enough to allow for
that possibility?
Which brings me to my second point:
that of a mature faith.
The first part of this gospel passage
has Jesus discussing his departure. This passage today is part of
the larger Farewell Discourse. Judas has left to betray him and he
is preparing the remaining disciples for what is to come, both
immediately and in the long-term. Jesus says very clearly that he
will come again and will take us to himself so that we will be
reunited.
An immature faith stops there. An
immature faith goes no farther. An immature faith reasons that,
since Jesus is coming again, we don't need to do anything. This
leads to some very problematic scenarios.
If Jesus is coming, all we need to do
is believe. If Jesus is coming, we don't need to worry about the
environment, clean water, melting ice caps, or the depletion and
extinction of species. If Jesus is coming, we don't need to care for
the poor, the hungry, or the homeless because Jesus will take care of
all that when he comes back. Not only is this an immature faith, but
it's also an incredibly selfish way to view the world.
A mature faith, on the other hand, will
not be satisfied with a one-verse theology. A mature faith will
engage with scripture and examine the whole. A mature faith will
look for context. A mature faith will say, “What else is there?”
Looking at the totality of this
passage, a person of a mature faith will notice this: “the one who
believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do
greater works than these because I am going to the Father.”
In other words, we are not called to
remain in a holding pattern doing nothing until Jesus returns – we
are called to do the works of Christ.
What are those works? First, let's not
confuse miracles with works. We won't be changing water to wine,
raising the dead, or walking on water. Instead, we need to look at
what Christ did in his life. He refused to condemn even one caught
in sin, opting for restoration instead of eradication. He worked to
feed people without judging why they needed food. He healed the sick
without regard to pre-existing conditions. He spoke out against an
establishment that put burdens on the lowest in society while looking
for ways to make life even easier for the rich and powerful. He
broke down walls instead of building them. He welcomed the
foreigner.
These are the works of Christ.
As we move through this Easter season,
our faith is being challenged in two areas:
- Are we willing to see Christianity as inclusive rather than exclusive, offering a room to all who stop in and ask?
- Do we have a mature faith that urges us to do the works of Christ, even in the face of the same worldly opposition that he himself faced?
If we are able to do this, then we will
be that much closer to seeing the kingdom of God in our midst.
Amen.
3 comments:
YESSSSSSSS!!!!
I love EVERYTHING about this! A lot. (As you may have noticed from the punctuation.)
Dangit, now I have to go do something useful and worthwhile, instead fo sitting here, thinking about who all I'm better than. haha!
Dangit, now I have to go do something useful and worthwhile
Oh, I don't know . . . designing liturgical vestments for the Day of the Dead seems to be worthwhile. ;)
Ohhhhhh. Maybe now I know what to do with my retirement. hahaha! (Seriously, is that a thing? I need to research...)
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